Painting flesh: artists who deal with portraiture

After high school and the first year into college I became acquainted with the work of Tai Shan Shierenberg and Lucian Freud. Both artists primarily worked in portraiture from direct observation however their approach to applying paint was completely different from other artists. Instead of blending flesh tones meticulously they made marks with individual local colors within the face. Lucian Freud for example would mix an entirely different color for each mark. This may be painstaking to some however this technique can lead to very exciting and expressive work.

Lucian Freud

Shierenburg

Ann Gale

Egon Shiele

schmidt rottluff

 Nick Lepard

Jenny Saville

Steve Adair